Club Reports: Wall Street, Tabu, Bliss, I-Bar

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

It’s been awhile since I visited downtown Orlando. Once again I intended to visit some new venues but the same places keep drawing me back. Although as you can see above, Wall Street began their St. Patrick’s Day celebrations early with a live band and the conversion of Wall Street Cantina to Old Irish Pub!

Tabu Night Club was wall-to-wall people as you can see above. DJ Richie Rich played his video mix of mostly Hip Hop and Top 40. Entry is free up until 11pm but the lines to get in were long even at midnight. Richie Rich breaks out the House music CD's tonight though as he guest stars with DJ Sandy at House of Blues Service Industry Night at Downtown Disney West Side!


Bliss Ultra Lounge remains my favorite Saturday night club since DJ Mickey Bono spins House and Dance similar to Mannequins. It finally got crowded around midnight. Between the music and the mostly female crowd, it was difficult to move on to the next club! You can hear a Mickey Bono music set every Friday night at 9pm ET on RadioDanz.com.


My final stop was Independent Bar and it's always an incredible experience in here. The Saturday night DJ owns the place so although he doesn't have a fancy DJ-name, I'm going to call him "DJ Independent"! The music is 1980's New Wave which I think is now called Old Wave. As always, the place was packed although it did thin out late. Downtown clubs can stay open to nearly 3am and then with last night's time change it was close to 4am when the lights came on. Saturday night admission is free until 11pm.

Lady Gaga World Premier Video

About the only song Lady Gaga did not perform during her January visit to Orlando was Telephone with Beyoncé. The music video was just released last night at 11:30pm EST. Gotta share it with you!

Club Reports: Why Not Lounge, Circa, The Groove

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
With warm weather having returned, it was a great night to make the rounds last night to see what was happening. The crowd at the Why Not Lounge in Altamonte Springs was not as elderly as during my previous visit. When the band The Boomers were not playing, the DJ played a variety of songs I used to hear at 8TRAX and Motion. Spotted several Mannequins patrons in here!

Located on Park Avenue in downtown Winter Park, the Circa 1926 restaurant has an upstairs ultralounge which on Thursday through Saturday nights features DJ Clinton at the helm. It was a bit slow last night but I've been told by several people that you can hardly move in the place on Friday & Saturday nights. The music is a mix of Top 40, Hip Hop and Disco.


Of course any Thursday night would be incomplete without 80's Night at The Groove in Universal CityWalk. It was a crowded night with lots of Spring Breakers on hand.

DJ Doc Wells was in charge of the classics; bartendress Katie gave me great drinks and a hidden Mickey.

Celebrity Sighting: PUSH at MK

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
When I was out at Magic Kingdom on Tuesday, I was excited to run into a celebrity: PUSH. It's the first time I've spotted him. It's my understanding that he's running for Mayor of Tomorrowland. (Yes, another slow news day.)

PI Update: Ticket Booth #1Torn Down

Save Pleasure Island roving reporter Thommy reports that the original Pleasure Island ticket booth has been torn down. This was the glass booth (not pictured) that was over near Fulton's Crab House and T-Rex, adjacent the #1 bridge to the island. The booth had not been used for PI ticket sales since the island went ungated. Last year the ticket booth on the West Side became the ticket sales location for the new tethered balloon ride; the two ticket booths made out of those train cars from the old Fort Wilderness Railroad (pictured below) remain standing at the main island entrance.

Lombard Street

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
When Merriweather & Isabella Pleasure visited San Francisco during the roaring 20's, they fell in love with that city's Lombard Street. That road supposedly is the "world's crookedest street". Upon returning to Florida he recreated the street for his wife on the front side of Pleasure Island. (pictured above right). It leads from The Waterfront at the bottom to near Laffer's Cantina at the top.

Photo ABOVE RIGHT by Wikipedia
Liking that idea, CityWalk (above left) built it's own version of Lombard Street. It carries visitors from NASCAR Cafe at the bottom to the CityWalk Food Court at the top. Also pictured (above right) is the real Lombard Street in SF. (Yes, today is a slow PI news day.)

Pleasure Island 1991

Recently Ken, one of our loyal readers, brought to my attention this video that was put onto YouTube just late last month. This is a look at Pleasure Island as it looked in 1991. Back then Rock'n'Roll Beach Club was called XZFR Rock'n'Rollerdrome and 8TRAX was The Cage. The building that preceded Motion was the restaurant Fireworks Factory, and what we knew as BET Soundstage was the Neon Armadillo. The video spends too much time in a couple shops but other than that, the glimpses of PI back in the years when it first opened are fascinating! Thanks, Ken!!

CityWalk Party Pass

There are quite a few ways to enjoy the night clubs of CityWalk and many are often overlooked. Here are the ones I am aware of:
$ 7.00 - admission to any one club, tax included.
$12.77 - admission to all clubs, tax included. ($11.99 + tax)
$15.98 - admission to all clubs, plus a movie, tax incl.
$21.00 - admission to all clubs, plus a meal at most CW restaurants, tax/tip incl.

The Party + Movie and Party + Meal deals are awsome. For just $3.21 more than just the clubs, you also get a movie at the Cineplex which does not need to be used the same night. Or for just $8.23 more than just the clubs, you also get dinner including the tax on that dinner and the gratuity! They definitely go out of their way to make partying a good deal!

Club Report: The Groove

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
I've been a regular at The Groove ever since Pleasure Island closed and I can't recall a larger crowd at than I experienced last night. In fact, all the clubs were absolutely jammed with really long lines outside. I stayed in TG the entire night, not certain I could get back in if I left. Regular resident Saturday night DJ AJ had the night off so Thursday/80's Night DJ Doc Wells filled-in.

There was a large contingent of Motion/Atlantic Dance Hall regulars on hand. They appeared to enjoy the music but did not have the space they're used to at ADH to do their dance routines.

DJ Talie (Motion/ADH/Celebrate Tonight/Animal Kingdom) visited with DJ Doc (8TRAX/ADH) in the booth for a few minutes. The Groove may be the hottest dance club in town right now overall; the people I chatted with were a mix of locals and tourists, similar to what PI used to draw.

Club Reports: Rix Lounge & ADH

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
Finally had a chance last night to return to Rix Lounge in Disney's Coronado Springs Resort; haven't been there in nearly 2 years. It was a pleasant surprise. When I walked in not only was there a decent crowd on hand dancing but DJ Infa-Red was playing a medly of David Guetta and Bob Sinclar techno/dance hits. Very cool. He says the crowd size (like Atlantic Dance) is very dependent on the convention crowd staying at the hotel. Except locals rarely come here. My drink cost $9.06 though (they add tax to the price) whereas the same drink at ADH was $7.00 (including tax). I guess that makes Rix an ultralounge! Good place to start the evening.

Then it was over to Atlantic Dance Hall at Disney's Boardwalk Resort. There was a good size crowd on hand but I was actually expecting more. DJ Tony was leading the hits including a lot of Dance songs. OMG, he actually played a Tiësto song!!

The girls (pictured left) were doing country line dancing moves to hip hop and techno. I ran into a flock of State Farm girls (right) from Winter Haven and we all agreed that GEICO sucks!

And the usual assortment of characters on the dance floor. See my Tuesday entry below for the many options available tonight in Orlando; also DJ Doc from 8TRAX is subbing for DJ AJ over at The Groove in CityWalk so expect huge crowds there following the Akon concert at Universal.

PI Update: Spring Break!!

You can tell that Spring Break has arrived. The normal Friday afternoon congestion on I-4 was as crazy as it gets. It took me a full hour to drive from my office in Maitland to Disney World. (It normally takes 30-minutes.) Because what better place to spend a sunny afternoon in the mid-60's than Pleasure Island!

I-4 was gridlock from Universal Blvd. to Lake Buena Vista. (photo upper left) Not a lot to report on the Island. The outdoor artifacts are still beside Adventurers Club and the building is still standing.

CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE
About the only interesting thing was that Motion was set-up in a banquet format again. This was not there the last time I peeked in so apparently the building is getting used by someone. I'd rent it out if they'd let me so we could have a PI Reunion actually on the island. Or if they'd just reopen the place themselves. Think of the revenue they could make between now and Easter over the various Spring Breaks!

Post PI Comments on Disney Website

Disney's Facebook website published an article yesterday about the new shops opening in Downtown Disney West Side. Many Pleasure Island fans responded by talking about PI instead. You don't have to be a Facebook member to see the comments that have been posted. Copy & Paste this URL:

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=155669083273&share_id=338544068381&comments=1#s338544068381

You do have to be a Facebook member to post your own comments. I urge Save PI readers who have a Facebook account to go on there and express your feelings about the closure of our clubs! This is your chance to post your opinions directly to a Disney website!! Thanks to reader Bill for the heads-up!
PS-Be polite, be constructive.

Fat Tuesday Is Now Open!

Have been anxiously awaiting the opening of the new Fat Tuesday bar upstairs in CityWalk adjacent The Groove. Well it's now open and one of our loyal readers The Legend sent over some pics to share here on the Blog.

As you can see on the menu board, the standard frozen alcoholic drink is $7, the larger drink in a souvenir cup is $10. That's really not bad considering that this is a tourist destination and also considering what drinks sell for inside the clubs. I like to call these things alcoholic Slurpee's but since this is Universal, I guess I should call them alcoholic Squishee's. Legend says many of the drinks are made with 151 and you can add a shot for just $1 more. And OMG, the 190 Octane drink is made with pure grain alcohol! I love that they have Jello shots on the Dollar Menu! When the nights grow warm, there are going to be some long lines here! Thanks Legend for sharing!
CLICK ON PICTURES TO ENLARGE

This Weekend In Techno Town

CLICK ON IMAGES FOR DETAILS
Lots going on this weekend in Techno Town so I'm posting this early enough for you to do some planning! THURSDAY night it's the first Thursday of the month again so it's I Love House Music night at Roxy. DJ Mickey Bono kicks it off with Dance & House and then they have special guest DJ's David Solano and Riot Gear (Andy Pate/Bobby Bassett) following up. Rumor has it that first Thursday has been so successful that they're considering going every Thursday with this!

FRIDAY night begins the first ever LaViance Music Festival out at the LaViance Estate in rural Groveland near the mountains of Clermont. This event runs from 5pm to 2am on Friday and features 4 stages, 20 bands and 80 DJ's! Some of the names I recognize spinning are DJ Micro, Carlos Mendoza, Jefferson Funk and DJ Andy Hughes. I then continues through Sunday.



Saturday night DJ Mickey Bono is back to his residency at Bliss Ultra Lounge and DJ Dominick Morrison is back to his at Vintage. Meanwhile, DJ Jimmy Joslin and DJ KJ of K5 are spinning over at Chill Lounge in East SODO. And Firestone Live is having their Official Reunion with 3 rooms of techno. I wasn't around in the old days of Firestone so I'm not familiar with DJ's Robby Clark and D-Extreme but some of you may be. But I do recognize DJ Andy Hughes, DJ Sandy and DJ Cliff Tangredi among others. Do your planning and have a great weekend!

New Stores Coming to DTD West Side

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting this afternoon about several new things coming to DTD West Side in the coming months!

RIDEMAKERZ is opening March 25th in the former Virgin Megastore location. The store is only leased through September so don't know if it disappears after that or will find a more permanent location.
D-STREET is opening in April in the former location of Planet Hollywood On Location. This was reported on the Blog earlier and this store includes the Vinylmation store.
AMC PLEASURE ISLAND 24 is converting one of its theaters to an ETX format which includes a floor to ceiling screen and an enhanced sound system. Last year it was reported AMC was putting in an IMAX but that never happened.

Still nothing about Pleasure Island but glad to see the West Side is improving!

DTD: Have the Day/Night Time of your Life!

CLICK ON IMAGES TO READ THE FINE PRINT
I've posted the night time advertisement previously but this was the first time I saw the day time and the night time ads posted together. Sure, even with the empty places, DTD can be a fun place during the day. And sure, if you're a shopper or having dinner, DTD has offerings into the evening as well. But come on.....THE NIGHT TIME OF YOUR LIFE? It used to be Mickey, but not anymore.